Agencies continue work to contain spill from sunken vessel south of Alki Point

Oct 14th, 2011 · Comments Off on Agencies continue work to contain spill from sunken vessel south of Alki Point

SEATTLE – Some oil sheen has reached the shore from a boat that sank south of Alki Point in Seattle this morning.

The state Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Seattle Fire Department and cleanup contractors are working to contain the spill from the vessels operated by Waterfront Construction.

The sheen is now estimated at 500 yards by 200 yards around the sunken vessel and the barge to which it is tied. Some sheen has reached the shore north of Lowman Beach Park.

The public is advised to avoid contact with the oil. Responders are using oil containment boom and absorbent pads to keep more oil from reaching the shore. Ecology and Coast Guard personnel are on-scene to assess how the oil is affecting the shoreline.

A 500 yard safety zone has been established in the water around the spill site.

An estimated 1,600 feet of hard boom and 300 feet of soft boom have been deployed to contain and absorb oil from the water.

Waterfront Construction hired NRC-Environmental Services (NRC) to help with containment and cleanup. NRC brought an oil skimming vessel to the scene to remove oil. Global Diving & Salvage and Ballard Diving have been hired to dive under the barge to assess if the leak can be stopped under water.

Ecology and the Coast Guard have flown over the scene to assess the incident. The sheen was observed to be breaking up.

The salvage operations for the vessel are expected to continue through the night. Spill recovery operations will continue until nightfall and resume again at first light Saturday.